U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,543 teaches an electrical connector having an insulating housing including a mating face for engaging another mating connector. Electrical contacts are disposed in the housing and extend toward the mating face. Posts project beyond the mating face to protect the contacts from being damaged. The posts align the mating face of the connector with another mating electrical connector, prior to the connection of the two electrical connectors. The posts provide protection to the contacts without providing a ground connection to an electrical terminal in the connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,194 teaches grounding pins that project from an electrical connector. The grounding pins incorporate springs that bias the grounding pins sideways against side portions of sockets disposed in another mating electrical connector. The grounding pins establish a ground connection between the connector and a mating electrical connector without establishing a ground connection to an electrical terminal in the mating electrical connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,413 teaches an electrical connector that includes an insulative housing and a board mount adapted for fastening the electrical connector to a printed circuit board. The board mount provides mechanical interconnection between the electrical connector and the printed circuit board, but without establishing an electrical pathway to ground from a mating electrical connector.
Blind mating electrical connectors, such as those suitable for connecting a computer disk drive to a docking work station, are well known. Typically, the entire disk drive is inserted into a docking opening in a work station. This usually requires the connector on the disk drive to be capable of aligning with a mating electrical connector in the docking opening, but without the benefit of direct visual confirmation to the installer. This is accomplished through the provision of alignment posts on the connector that project beyond its mating face. The alignment posts align the mating face with the mating electrical connector prior to full connection.
The disk drive is connected to the active circuits in a docking work station upon full insertion of the drive into a docking opening. Arcing, due to electrostatic discharge, may occur when a connector on the disk drive is connected to the active circuits. Arcing due to electrostatic discharge often has a deleterious effect on the active components associated with the disk drive.